Champagne 2013

What Do You Need To Know Before You Buy Champagne?

It contains three specific grapes, maximum, and it's been made in the same place in basically the same way for hundreds of years. So what makes Champagne so damned special? As New Year's Eve (and, before you know it, Valentine's Day) bears down upon us, it's a good time to review this elegant and somewhat mysterious sparkler.

A primer: Champagne is wine. Wine that's undergone a second fermentation process (via added sugar and yeast) to create gas bubbles, kept under pressure inside the bottle until you pop it open. This second fermentation also transforms the taste of the wine to something more citric, fruity or bready, depending on the goals of the winemaker.

By law and tradition, proper Champagne can only be made within the approved Champagne region of northeastern France. The grapes must be grown there, the wine made there, and the secondary fermentation (responsible for the bubbles) done inside bottles there. Anywhere else (or using another process like conducting the secondary fermentation in a large tank), and it's got to go by another name (we'll get to that).

Those making Champagne are only allowed to choose from among three grapes — Chardonnay (for finesse), Pinot Noir (for body and aroma) and Pinot Meunier (for fruitiness and freshness). Winemakers can choose to incorporate one or all three, in any proportion. Vineyards are inspected each year and ranked by quality into "Crus" (growths). Those considered best are labeled Grand Cru, the next best Premier, then Village. In 2008, French wine regulators voted to expand the Champagne region by allowing new plantings in 38 additional districts (for a total of 357). Chalky soils and cool weather mean early ripening but bright acids, and are credited with providing Champagne's unique bright flavors.

One reason for Champagne's enduring popularity is the fact it runs the gamut from fun and accessible to ultra-luxe. You can buy full bottles of good stuff for around $35 (for, say, Pol Roger Brut Reserve), or go much, much higher: Krug's limited-release Clos du Mesnil retails for about $750, for example, while a Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam (large size) can set you back 40 large. This holiday season in London, Moet & Chandon unveiled a Champagne vending machine inside the department store Selfridges. Small bottles (200ml) of chilled and Swarovski-bedazzled bubbly sell for about $30 and target "budding luxury buyers," according to Luxury Daily.

"There is no 'best' Krug," said Olivier Krug, a sixth-generation family member and the current face of Krug Champagne, speaking at the luxurious pop-up experience known as House of Krug in New York City this fall. "We decided that, in every version of Krug, to make only the top, the best version of that Champagne." The above-mentioned Clos du Mesnil, while expensive, is primarily expensive due to its scarcity (it features one grape, from one vineyard, from one vintage), rather than being a better-produced wine than, say, the "cheaper" Krug Grand Cuvee ($150). "In fact, Clos du Mesnil is the easiest to make." His point is, even the pricey stuff is intended to be drunk and enjoyed, not placed upon a pedestal to be worshiped.

As mentioned above, sparklers from other regions of France or elsewhere in the world, while great in their own right, are simply not Champagne. Here are a few you're likely to run into this holiday season: